Bowl - Lot 21

Bowl Boiken, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea Carved wood, fiber ties D. 26 cm Provenance: - Collected in situ by Michael Hamson in the 1980s - Ex collection Rut van Caelenbergh, Brussels This circular bowl, decorated with a stylized animal figure, is characteristic of the style of the Boiken people living in the Prince Alexander Mountains in the East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. This type of bowl is known as a Huamp in Boiken languages. It was used to prepare and share food. As missionary Henry Aufenanger of the SVD (Societas Verbi Divini), who was present on site in the 1960s, points out, certain ceremonial practices also required the use of these carved bowls. Condition report: Some scratches and loss of pigment around the animal figure, white traces of deposit on the inside attest to the use of this bowl. An inventory number in white ink, KC-2019-PNG-I, is visible on the underside of the bowl.